Marinated Mushrooms with Buckwheat (Ukrainian recipe)

We often rediscover ideas for recipes when we go back in time and recall what we liked to eat when we lived in Ukraine. My husband and I like mushrooms in any form, but especially marinated ones. We were not inveterate mushroom hunters who knew all kinds of species and were out in the woods when the mushroom season started. We were not those who knew how to marinate them either. But we liked to open those precious jars with marinated boletus or porcini that our friends shared with us in winter. These marinated mushrooms were a delicacy and were placed at the table’s center.

When we lived in Toronto, we found marinated mushrooms in European stores. They were not very cheap, but still affordable. In Vancouver, the price for marinated mushrooms exported from Ukraine is higher. And we know that it is just unrealistic for us to make our jars with marinated mushrooms. However, we can marinate them slightly when we feel like eating marinated mushrooms. The methods of marinating and fermenting food are very similar, as in both cases, the food is placed in a solution of vinegar or other acid, salt and spices, which helps to preserve it and give it a tangy flavor. Food fermentation is an ancient method of preserving food and the fermented foods also have many health benefits.

Our marinade is very mild, but surprisingly, the taste of the pickled mushrooms that stay in the marinade for only a couple of hours is very close to the homemade marinated mushrooms preserved in jars. We have also replaced boletus with shiitake. In fact, we wouldn’t tell a big difference between the taste of marinated boletus and shiitake. If we compare shiitake to porcini, it may have a less earthly mushroom taste and a meatier flavor. But shiitake is also more economical. If you like mushroom hunting, maybe you will be lucky and find boletus in your area. Then you can try this recipe with boletus!

If you are interested in learning more about Ukrainian fermented foods and Ukrainian dishes, be sure to check out the Ukrainian Culinary Traditions webpage.

Marinated Mushrooms with Buckwheat (Ukrainian recipe)

For this recipe we use shiitake and make a marinade from olive oil, apple cider vinegar, onion, garlic and black pepper. This simple marinade makes shiitake absolutely delicious!

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Prep Time 30 mins

Cook Time 30 mins

Course Appetizer

Cuisine Ukrainian

Servings 2

Equipment

• Pot
• Measuring Cup
• Sieve
• bowls

Ingredients

  

• 200 g shiitake
• 1 onion
• 3 garlic cloves
• 75 ml apple cider vinegar
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• ½ tbsp salt, Kosher coarse
• black pepper
• fresh basil leaves
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 organic buckwheat

Instructions

 

• Wash mushrooms. Put two cups of water to boil in a medium-sized pot; add bay leaves, a piece of onion and ½ tablespoon of salt. Add mushrooms, reduce the heat to medium and close with the lid. Boil mushrooms for 15 minutes.
  
• Slice onion, chop garlic and basil leaves. Place them in a bowl, and add apple cider vinegar, olive oil, and black pepper. Mix well all the ingredients. This mixture will make a marinade.
  
• Turn off the heat. With a ladle, transfer the mushrooms and a cup of the mushroom broth from the pot to the bowl with the marinade. Mix well.
  
• Close the bowl with a food wrap or a big plate. Let the mushrooms marinate for two hours at room temperature.
• Meanwhile, prepare the buckwheat. If you use organic buckwheat, as we did for this recipe, roast a cup of buckwheat over medium heat until golden.
  
• Put two cups of water to a boil in a pan. Add the roasted buckwheat and boil it for 15 minutes. Add salt to taste at the end. All the water should evaporate. Turn off the heat.
  
• Leave the buckwheat on the stove, covered with the lid, until the marinade is ready. Ideally, you start cooking the buckwheat 30 minutes before serving, so it is fresh and warm.
• Strain the marinade. Keep only the mushrooms and other ingredients, and put them in a bowl.
  
• Now the mushrooms are ready to be served with the buckwheat. You can use the marinated onion too. We put the mushrooms around the buckwheat; however you can arrange them any way you want.
  

Keyword Buckwheat, Healthy Appetizer, Marinated Mushrooms, Recipes with Buckwheat, Ukraine, Ukrainian recipes

How to Serve Marinated Mushrooms

Serve marinated mushrooms as an appetizer, side dish, or ingredient in other recipes. They will go very well with roasted or mashed potatoes, deruny (How to Make Deruny), meat, green salad, or pickled vegetables. For our recipe, we serve marinated mushrooms with buckwheat, which adds zest to this otherwise plain porridge. You can add them to pizza, pasta, sandwiches, or fancy canapes. Use them as a filling for sweet pepper or cabbage rolls too. Please follow the embedded link to learn How to Make Cabbage Rolls.

Thank you!

Thank you for visiting our new recipe! We hope you will enjoy it as much as we do and will leave your thoughts for our readers and us. It is a healthy recipe for those who like homemade, organic, and nourishing food. Stay healthy, and keep exploring new ideas!